Harp trunk

ABSTRACT

A harp trunk comprising two tub-like sections which open in clam-shell fashion to receive or disgorge a harp. The trunk sections each comprise vacuum formed or molded plastic shells having vertically elongated depressions formed therein. The depression bases are horizontally corrugated. The depressions rigidify the shells. Skid rails encircle three sides of the trunk and mount wheels at its bottom. Rollers are recessed in one section wall. Resilient members within the sections grip the harp within the trunk.

United States Patent 91 Palma et a1.

11] 3,809,231 [451 May 7,1974

[ HARP TRUNK [75] Inventors: Joseph Palma, Wheaton; HenningChristiansen, Oak Lawn, both of 111.

[52] U.S. C1. ....206/3 14,1 90l ;A 2 Q 6 21 6 [51] Int. Cl B6Sd 85/54,A45c 5/14 [58] Field of Search 206/13; 190/18 A, 18 R,

[ 56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 81,143 8/1868 Cook 220/723,313,382 4/1967 Rosing et a1.. 220/72 3,342,316 9/1967 Erlewine 206/11,352,814 9/1920 Kirk 206/13 3,326,359 6/1967 Katz 206/13 Thomas 190/18A UX 6/1935 Grabler 206/1 R UX 3,357,625 12/1967 Malmgren 229/25 FOREIGNPATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 2,929 2/1912 Great Britain 190/25 PrimaryExaminer-Leonard Summer Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Hume, Clement, Brinks,William, Olds & Cook, Ltd.

[5 7] ABSTRACT A harp trunk comprising two tub-like sections which openin clam-shell fashion to receive or disgorge a harp. The trunk sectionseach comprise vacuum formed or molded plastic shells having verticallyelongated depressions formed therein. The depression bases arehorizontally corrugated. The depressions rigidify the shells. Skid railsencircle three sides of the trunk and mount wheels at its bottom.Rollers are recessed in one section wall. Resilient members within thesections grip the harp within the trunk.

9 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures 1. HARP TRUNK BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates in general to the container art. It deals, moreparticularly, with a container for transporting a large musicalinstrument, specifically a harp.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention toprovide a new and improved container for transportinga harp,particularly a harp of the size normally used in'concert performancesand the like. Itisano'ther object to provide such a container, referredto hereinafter as aharp trunk, which is simple in construction, lightand easy to handle in its own right, relatively inexpensive, yet sturdyand durable. Still another object is to provide such a harp trunk whichreadily facilitates moving and storing the harp in either an uprightposition,-on one of its edges, or on its side. I

The foregoing and other objects are realized in accord with theinvention by providing a harp trunk including a body fabricated in twosubstantially mirrorimagev body sections'These body sections, each ofwhich includes a shell formed of a suitable molded plastic, are hingedtogether along one longitudinal edge. They open in clam-like fashion toreceive the harp and, once closed around the harp, are latched togetherwith latches disposed on their opposite edges.

With the harp trunk standing in the upright position, each of the bodysections has, extending along itsgenerally vertical sides anditshorizontal bottom, a channel-shaped rail which acts as a skid. Ateachlower corner ofeach body section,-a'wheel is secured to acorresponding rail. The trunk is normally moved on these wheels whileupright.

The wall of each body shell incorporates a vertically elongateddepression which acts as a stiffening rib for the body section. The baseof each of these stiffening ribs is, in turn, corregated on horizontalaxes to provide a transverse stiffening of the rib itself. The overalleffect is to rigidify the body sections.

One of the body sections has, recessed in its surface, a plurality ofrollers journalled on axes extending perpendicular to the axes of theaforementioned wheels at the base of the trunk. These rollers arerecessed in the wall of the body section shell to' the extent that theyprotrude only slightly outwardly from its surface. The harp is normallyrolled into low-overhead transport, such as a station wagon, with thetrunk lying on its side rollers.

The harp is firmly, but resiliently, fixed inside the trunk bystrategically placed plastic foam or spongerubber blocks secured withinthe body sections. These blocks engage the harp as the harp trunk isclosed and latched.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention, including itsconstruction and mode of operation, together with additional objects andadvantages thereof, is illustrated more or. less diagrammatically in thedrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the harp trunk embodying featuresof the invention, with a concert style harp shown in dotted lines withinthe trunk;

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of the harp-trunk illustrated in FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a base wheel mounting of the trunk, withparts broken away;

FIG. 5 is an end view of the wheel mounting illustrated in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view through a skid at a wheel mountingposition;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view of one of the side roller mountings onthe harp trunk, with parts removed;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8--8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken through the roller illustrated in FIGS.7 and 8; and

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line 10-10 of FIG. 2.

' DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to. thedrawings, and particularly to FIGS. l-3, a harp trunk embodying featuresof the invention is illustrated generally at 10. As best seen in FIGS. 2and 3, the trunk 10 comprises .two body sections 11a and 11b, formedsubstantially in mirror-image of each other, and adapted to mate oncorresponding parting edges 13a and 13b toform the trunk body. Each ofthese body sections 11a and 11b is generally tub-shaped and, as viewedfrom either edge of the trunk in upright position (see FIG. 2), tapersoutwardly from a relatively narrow profile at its top to a relativelywide one at its bottom.

Since the body sections 11a and 11b are virtually identical inconstruction and arrangement, although mirror-images of each other, adetailed description of one will suffice to an understanding of boty.Accordingly, only section 11a is described specifically whilecorresponding components of section 11b are identified by correspondingreference numerals with the suffix b rather than the suffix b. Thesection 11b does have, according to the invention, one feature not foundin the body section 11a, but this is best described after the basic(identical) construction of both body sections 11a and 11b is described.

The body section 11a comprises a shell 20a molded of plastic byconventional molding techniques. Formed in the wall 21a of the shell 20ais a vertically elongated depression 24a. The depression 24a is wider atit's uppermost extremity 25a than it is at its lowermost extremity 26a,tapering generally in conformance with the shape of the harp H to bestored in the trunk 10, as illustrated in dotted lines in FIG. 1.

The depression 24a serves to rigidify and strengthen the shell 20a. Inturn, the base 280 of the depression 24a is corrugated in a horizontalpattern, as at 32a, from adjacent the lower extremity of the base overabout 75-80 percent of its vertical expanse. Thus, ap-

proximately the upper one-quarter (1 /4) of the depres-- sion base 28bis flat; 1.8., remains uncorrugatedf The horizontally orientedcorrugations 32a serve to rigidify and strengthen the depression 24aitself. Thus, the depression 24a and, in addition, the configuration ofthe depression base 28a provides the shell 24a with substantialstructural rigidity.

The shell 20a has a continuous side 33a extending perpendicularly fromits wall 21a and terminating in the parting edge 13a. Secured to theside 33a and extending parallel to the edge 13a is a channel-shaped rail40a. The rail 40a is continuous with the side 33a along its bottom andvertical extents, as seen in FIG. 1, and is secured to the shell byconventional bolt and washer assemblies. In this light, for an enlargedillustration of the rail configuration, attention is directed to FIG.where the rail 40b for the body section 11b is illustrated. The outerflange of each rail 40a and 40b is grooved, as illustrated, for grippingfiat surfaces upon which the trunk 10 is rested.

At each of the two bottom corners of the trunk section 11a (with thetrunk 10 upright), secured to both the shell a and the rail a, is awheel assembly a. Referring to FIGS. 4-6, the wheel assembly 45acomprises a cast metal mounting block 47a of irregular configuration.The mounting block 47a is shaped to conform to the shape of the shell20a in this corner location and is secured to the shell by a mountingplate and screw arrangement 48a. The block 47a is shaped to fit snuglyagainst the rail 40a and the flanges of the channel shaped rail 40aarecut away in the area of the mounting block 47a to accommodate it.

Recessed in the outer surface 50a of each mounting block 47a is a wheelwell 51a. Journalled in the wheel well 51a is a rotatable axle pin 52acarrying a small wheel 53a. The function of the wheel assemblies 45a arehereinafter discussed in relation to the use and operation of the harptrunk 10 according to the invention.

The wall 21b of the shell 20b in the harp trunk section 11b has,embedded in its surface, four roller assemblies 60, positioned at itscorners as best illustrated in dotted lines in FIG. 1. The rollerassemblies 60, one of which .is shown in detail in FIGS. 7-9, includesegmentally cylindrical recesses 61 formed in the wall 21b of the shell20b. At the opposite ends of each recess, journal bearing units 63 ofconventional construction mount the rotatable shafts 64 of cylindricalplastic rollers 66. The diameter of the plastic rollers 66 are such thatthey protrude slightly less than half their diameter outwardly of thesurface of the wall 21b. The function of these roller assemblies will,as with the wheel assemblies 450, be discussed on detail hereinafter inrelation to the use and operation of the harp trunk 10.

Formed inside the bottom of each section 11a and 11b of the harp trunk10 (referring again for purposes of description to section 11a) are aseries of ribs 70a (three, as seen in FIG. 1) arranged in generally afanshaped pattern so that they radiate outwardly from adjacent eachother next to a corresponding edge to a relatively wide spacing at thecorresponding wall 21. The upper surfaces of the ribs 70a, together withthe upper surfaces of the corresponding ribs 70b in the trunk section11b, support a one-piece, generally rectangular plywood platform 72. Theplatform 72 is fastened to only the ribs 70a (by screws, not shown). Itis on this platform 72 that the harp H stands with the trunk 10 in itsupright position, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

To transport a harp H in the trunk 10, for example, the trunk is placedupright, resting on the wheel assemblies 45a and 45b. Latches 80. ofconventional construction, which secure the trunk in closed relationshipalong the parting edges 13 and 14 at the'front of the trunk, asillustrated in FIGS. 2, are opened. Section 1 lb of the trunk is pivotedaway from section 1 1a about the conventional hinges 81 secured to thetwo trunk sections 11a and 11b along the parting edges 13 and 14 at theback of the trunk, as illustrated in FIG. 3. The harp H is then set inthe trunk section 11a, resting against plastic foam blocks 82a, glued tothe inside of the shell 20b and positioned and shaped to gently andfirmly support the harp. The base of the harp rests on the plywoodplatform 72. I

The section 11b of the trunk is then closed onto the section 11a and thelatches locked. In this position, the resilient blocks 82a and 82b inthe sections 11a and 11b, respectively, grip the harp snugly but firmlybetween them. In this light, it will be noted that the resilient foamblocks 82a are positioned in precisely the same position in the shell20a as the blocks 82b are in the shell 20b. The trunk 10 can then bemoved about at will. If it mustbe loaded through low-overhead doors intoa station-wagon, for example,-.it is rested on side roller assemblies 60and moved on these.

While the embodiment described therein is at present considered to bepreferred, it is understood that various modifications and improvementsmay be made therein, and it is intended to cover in the appended claimsall such modifications and improvements as fall within the true spiritand scope of the invention.

What is desired to be claimed and secured by letters Patent of theUnited States is:

1. A trunk for storing and transporting a harp, comprising:

a. a' trunk body having first and second body sections adapted to mateand separate along parting edges,

b. each of said body sections including a molded plastic shell formed intub-like configuration and having a wall with sides extending generallyperpendicular from said wall, l

c. means inside each of said body sections for holding the harprelatively immobile in the trunk with the body sections mated,

d. a relatively deep depression formed in the wall of each body sectionand vertically elongated with the trunk in its upright position tostiffen said body sections, e. each of said depressions having sides anda base with said sides extending generally perpendicular to acorresponding wall so as to provide a hand' a. said base is corrugatedonly along a lower portion of its vertical extent.

3. The trunk of claim 1 further characterized by and v including:

a. wheel means mounted on said shells at each lower corner of said bodysections with the trunk in an upright position, and

b. roller means seated in at least one of the shell walls.

4. The trunk of claim 3 further characterized in that:

a. said roller means are positioned at four comers of 0 a. said wheelmeans are positioned adjacent to and supported by corresponding railmeans.

7. The trunk of claim 1 further characterized by and including:

a. rib means formed in each shell so as to extend inwardly of said shellsides from the bottom of corresponding trunk sections with the trunk inupright position.

8. The trunk of claim 7 further characterized by and including:

a. platform means normally disposed on said rib means for supporting aharp with the trunk in upright position.

b. said platform means being fastened to only one of said shellsv 9. Thetrunk of claim 1 further characterized in that:

each of said body sections.

1. A trunk for storing and transporting a harp, comprising: a. a trunkbody having first and second body sections adapted to mate and separatealong parting edges, b. each of said body sections including a moldedplastic shell formed in tub-like configuration and having a wall withsides extending generally perpendicular from said wall, c. means insideeach of said body sections for holding the harp relatively immobile inthe trunk with the body sections mated, d. a relatively deep depressionformed in the wall of each body section and vertically elongated withthe trunk in its upright position to stiffen said body sections, e. eachof said depressions having sides and a base with said sides extendinggenerally perpendicular to a corresponding wall so as to provide a handhold for manually handling said trunk, f. said base in each depressionbeing corrugated on horizontal axes and the corrugations being disposedwithin corresponding depressions and not extending outwardly of saiddepressions, and g. means mounted on at least one of said body sectionsso that said trunk can be rolled.
 2. The trunk of claim 1 furthercharacterized in that: a. said base is corrugated only along a lowerportion of its vertical extent.
 3. The trunk of claim 1 furthercharacterized by and including: a. wheel means mounted on said shells ateach lower corner of said body sections with the trunk in an uprightposition, and b. roller means seated in at least one of the shell walls.4. The trunk of claim 3 further characterized in that: a. said rollermeans are positioned at four corners of the trunk in only one of saidwalls.
 5. The trunk of claim 4 further characterized by and including:a. rail means fastened to the bottom and upstanding sides of each shellin a corresponding trunk section with the trunk in upright position, b.said rail means extending generally parallel to the wall of each shell.6. The trunk of claim 5 further characterized in that: a. said wheelmeans are positioned adjacent to and supported by corresponding railmeans.
 7. The trunk of claim 1 further characterized by and including:a. rib means formed in each shell so as to extend inwardly of said shellsides from the bottom of corresponding trunk sections with the trunk inupright position.
 8. The trunk of claim 7 further chaRacterized by andincluding: a. platform means normally disposed on said rib means forsupporting a harp with the trunk in upright position. b. said platformmeans being fastened to only one of said shells.
 9. The trunk of claim 1further characterized in that: a. said gripping means include blocks ofresilient material secured to the inside of the plastic shell in each ofsaid body sections.